UN: Teach Holocaust facts to Palestinians
The United Nations' refugee agency is planning to include the Holocaust in a new human-rights curriculum for pupils in its Gaza secondary schools despite strident opposition to the idea from within Hamas, The Independent reports.
The director of operations in Gaza for The U.N. Relief and Works Agency told the British newspaper that he was "confident and determined" that the Holocaust would feature for the first time in a wide-ranging curriculum now being drafted.
"No human-rights curriculum is complete without the inclusion of the facts of the Holocaust, and its lessons," said John Ging, described as a "passionate advocate" for Palestinian civilians. More from the story:
The draft, to be completed within weeks and then put out for consultation with parents and the public, is built on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was agreed by the UN General Assembly in 1948 in the shadow of what it called the "barbarous acts" committed by the Nazis during the Second World War.The one-time Irish Army officer has long been an outspoken critic of Israeli policy towards Gaza, including the conduct of last winter's lethal military offensive and what he described more than once in his interview as the "illegal siege".
Mr Ging said the curriculum would explain the genesis, and "inculcate the values" of the Universal Declaration which stipulates that "everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person". He pointed out that the UN General Assembly in 2005 unanimously urged "all countries to teach the lessons of the Holocaust to children so that we learn from history, so that we don't repeat history".
The Independent quotes religious leader Yunis al Astal, a Hamas member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, as saying that including the Holocaust in the curriculum would be "marketing a lie" and a "war crime."
Comments
How about if instead of continuing to focus on the religious differences the UN (of all organizations!) spent some time teaching the history of border dispute. How in past centuries both Courts of Law and diplomatic efforts settled conflicting claims based on naturally existing geographical features. Simple and obvious things like rivers and mountain ranges have always done quite well in this purpose as they offer very little ambiguity.
Oh yeah, when the UN starts doing that they might feel obliged (the UN? maybe not) to explore the history of what had been argued, and considered, and even (largely) arranged as a diplomatic resolution for that region prior to the UN even coming into existence.
Posted by: MrRational | October 5, 2009 9:56 AM
Right on these blogs you have had Holocaust deniers--quibbling about nuances and numbers, trying to finesse the genocide, blaming the victims as having fabricated a bigger monstrosity for purpose of global guilt creation. The Palestinian leadership would like to sweep the entire Holocaust under a rug of their own making. Why? Are they afraid the Palestinian children may begin to see the Jews in a different light--that a common purpose may emerge from identifying common sufferings or that by humanizing the Jews--by teaching about their near annihilation--the indoctrinated anti-Semetism would be blunted among the Palestinian youth? Whatever be the reasons, full time conflict is big business for some in the Middle East--it confers those who prolong conflicts with power and purpose.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 5, 2009 1:00 PM